Working it out
by livingvicariously75
Summary: Birthday present for Rania Flames, a JJ/Hotch fluff piece set at the gym. Mostly a little comedy with a mix of romance, flirtation, non-established relationship.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

JJ could feel her foul mood lifting as she grabbed her gym bag from under her desk. Finally through with another long workday and ready to have some time to herself. With Henry visiting her mother for the week she had finally started to catch up on areas of her life that had been sorely neglected by the rigorous demands of balancing single motherhood and her job after Will had abruptly left them over six months ago. He had made one final ultimatum for her to choose between him or her work and this time had followed through on the consequences when she again refused to quit her job at the BAU.

The divorce had just been finalized earlier in the month and she was still trying to think of herself as a single woman again. She struggled at times, coping with her failed marriage and in darker moments found herself questioning her choice. But in more logical moments she could confess that she did feel happier in not having to deal with Will's drinking, temper flares and guilt trips about putting her work before her family.

With Henry gone for the week she had spent three days at home after work, delighting in being able to finish all the cleaning, laundry, bills and everything else that had piled up. With her home life now organized and ready for the return of her baby she had finally started making some headway on the work piles and was now ready to hit the gym and enjoy the opportunity for a workout without having to rush home to relieve a babysitter.

She felt herself smiling as she reached the door, with the lateness of the hour she anticipated having the gym to herself to enjoy some private time to contemplate what the future held for her in terms of her personal life.

As word of her divorce had spread she had received a couple of date invitations from office workers not in the BAU. A well intentioned Kevin and Garcia had set her up with one of their IT friends which had been a total disaster. She had tried to give the man a chance but it had been obvious for both of them within the hour that they weren't clicking. She displayed as much interest in his knowledge of the Lord of the Rings trilogy as he did in profiling and working as an FBI agent. The only relief came when they both acknowledged the mismatch and shifted to talking about how to report the experience to their matchmaking friends. Most recently she had received an invitation from a casual acquaintance in accounting named Marty, he seemed nice enough but she found herself leery of immersing herself in the dating world again.

She paused when she heard the clank of weights as she opened the door, signaling that she would not be as alone as she hoped for her workout. Deciding not to let that change her plans she forged ahead, skirting the perimeter of the workout area as she headed towards the locker room.

With a quick glance all she could determine from the furtive look she shot across the room was that the other occupant was definitely male judging by the hairy legs protruding from black gym shorts. "He's supposed to be using a spotter," was the thought that came to mind as she entered the deserted locker room and began stripping off her clothes to change into her own workout gear. She couldn't help feeling annoyed at this thought though deep down she realized her anger was more about not having the gym to herself as she had hoped than whether the man was following the gym rules.

As she changed into her spandex and tank top her mind strayed back to the state of her social life. Garcia had tried to tell her she needed to find a new man for Henry to have a father figure but she had squashed that suggestion almost immediately. Will had left her but still planned to be involved in Henry's life as they continued to work on custody arrangements. She also reminded Garcia that Henry had quite the range of male role models among all his BAU uncles. With Cruz, the four men on their team and Kevin there was no loss of men in their lives that could help fill the gap for Henry but did not require any romantic entanglement. She had initially wondered if any of the men on the team might look at her differently but nothing seemed to change as they team rallied around her in support after she broke the news about the end of her marriage but no one seemed to think of her as anything more than a friend and fellow agent the best she could tell. Either that or they had seen she was not ready, either way there had been no overtures from the men she spent so much time with on cases.

Reid had apparently matured past the initial crush he had on her, Morgan still acted like a brother and Rossi like a father with a perverse sense of humor as he shared some of the advantages of divorce from what he considered his vast experience on the subject. Hotch had remained silent aside from an acknowledgement and offer of whatever help she needed in terms of managing her schedule or if he and Jack could do anything to help Henry. His offer was reinforced by Cruz for both agency support and personal support. She had almost taken Cruz up on his offer to let Henry spend the night with his family but in the end realized that she needed to keep her little boy close right now to help keep her focus during the first few rocky months, this being the first week she had let him leave for more than an overnight visit. Her son seemed to have finally made the transition to not having his daddy around as much, having less tearful episodes or clinging to his mother and she was finally feeling the sense of their life moving towards a new version of normal. Shaking her head to clear the thoughts of her broken marriage she exited the locker room.

Moving towards the elliptical machine for a quick cardio workout she put in the earbuds for her mp3 player and hit the preset button on the machine to start the warmup. Now able to more casually examine the man using the bench press only 10 feet away she immediately observed that with the soles of his sneakers facing her he wouldn't be able to see her without sitting up so let herself be a little more open in her study of him.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Feeling secure in her ability to watch the man without his knowledge she started with the soles of the sneakers, finding herself trying to guess their size as they looked huge from her vantage point. Unbidden the memories of a girls night debate came to mind, a time when she, Garcia and Prentiss had all engaged in a spirited discussion about the relationship between big feet and other parts of the male anatomy. She felt a flush to her cheeks as she considered the implication and decided it was a good time to continue on before the target of her voyeurism sat up.

Letting her gaze travel she had to admit she could appreciate the view as her eyes slowly continued their journey over muscular calves and thighs to a flat abdomen. She made a mental note that while the muscles indicated regular exercise his skin was pale, indicating that he must not spend much time outdoors or in casual wear.

As she enjoyed the view she mechanically moved along with the elliptical as it picked up speed, feeling a flutter of interest deep in her stomach that had nothing to do with the intensity of the workout she was engaging in.

"Down girl," she cautioned her straying thoughts. Just because her sex life with Will had died well before he left was no reason for her to let her hormones start running away with her she tried to remind her libido that they could do without a man. Her body didn't seem inclined to listen as she let her gaze wander back down from the strong shoulders and chest muscles, imagining the feel of the taut muscles, hot beneath her hands. Feeling the sweat from the workout starting to trickle down her body and between her breasts she paused again on the exercise trunks and noticed that with the wide legs of the shorts she could see further up than was really appropriate though saw nothing more than the brief contrast of white against the black shorts.

With so many departments and employees in the building she assumed it quite likely she wouldn't know the man she had been studying. She scanned her eyes back up to where his fingers gripped the bar to see if there was a wedding ring to squash the direction her mind had started taking, but with the way his hands were turned it wasn't obvious to her if there were any marks of a ring on his finger. Her eyes went back to the straining biceps as she started imagining him in a suit as she had decided to attribute the pale skin to that. With that thought she felt the flames blaze hotter as she started imagining the man hiding a muscular body from a world of stuff bureaucrats, yet here she was one of possibly few people who would know what truly laid beneath the layers of fabric.

She almost snickered as with the thoughts of a suit her mind unexpectedly jumped to Hotch, hiding his muscles under a tie and suit jacket. She quickly wiped these thoughts away as she again looked at the chest and arm muscles. Hotch was fit, she knew that from their experiences in the field and agent requirements, but she couldn't imagine him lying on a bench, pressing what looked to be a rather substantial amount of weight. Just to be sure she tried to crane her neck to see if there were any scars evident on the bared chest. But with the distance, sweat and the reflection of the lights the definition of the chest area was hard to determine.

"Don't be silly, the odds of it being Hotch are a thousand to one," she tried to reassure herself, thinking of how hard it would be to meet her bosses eye in the next staff meeting if she found she had been looking at him as a sex object for the last several minutes. She brushed the thought away, trying to halt the dangerous path immediately of putting thoughts of her boss in the same category as her libido and admiration of the male form. JJ knew the odds were truly in her favor that the agent or office worker on the bench would likely be no one she recognized in a building with hundreds of employees daily going through the building but the image of Hotch seemed to linger in her mind.

As if on cue, with a grunt and a clang the weights again rested on their holder as the man she had started lusting over took a deep breath and stretched. Turning her attention quickly back to her own machine JJ could see out of the corner of her eye that he was sitting up before quickly reverting her gaze back to the numbers.

"JJ?" She heard her name clearly in an all too familiar voice, feeling sheepish as she realized that with all her interest in studying the man she had never actually turned on her music. She would later congratulate herself on not falling off the elliptical when she looked up to see none other than Aaron Hotchner looking at her, now seated on the weight bench with an uncharacteristic smirk on his face.

She blinked, stupidly wondering for a moment if thinking about her boss had somehow caused him to appear, but he was very much present, in the flesh. The beads of sweat on his upper body glistened under the fluorescent lights as he rose and walked towards where she still feverishly worked to keep up the pace on the elliptical. She fought to keep a neutral expression on her face and made a show of removing the headphones as she returned his greeting. "Oh Hotch, hi," she said her voice sounding unnaturally bright to her ears as she hoped her cheeks weren't as pink as they felt and if they were that he would attribute them to the workout than the embarrassment now coursing through her body. Reminding herself that he couldn't have seen her while he was lifting weights she tried to carry on a normal conversation. "I didn't expect you to be here this late."

"Jessica took Jack to visit his grandparents over the weekend, I didn't expect you here this late either", he said conversationally, still giving her a decidedly amused glance. Seeing her puzzled look at his expression he decided to enlighten her. "You know this is quite a gym isn't it," he said as she didn't respond, wanting to see where he was going with this before digging herself in deeper. Focusing on her panel she saw by the display that her pulse had just taken a rather rapid jump as she tried to process that she had just been fantasizing about her boss. "State of the art equipment, plenty of space, a mirrored wall, and…"

JJ heard nothing after his statement about the mirrored walls as her eyes flew to the wall on her right, realizing in sudden horror that with his head turned Hotch would have been able to see her perusal of him very clearly. She felt her stomach sink as she began praying that he wouldn't call her on whatever he thought he might have seen.


	3. Chapter 3

Chater 3

Trying to decide the best approach she opted for a casual one though her cheeks felt hot under his gaze. "Yes it is a nice gym, though I was watching you workout and thought you were supposed to have a spotter when using the weight bench."

"I know my limits," he said equally as casually, knowing full well from the length of time she had been staring at him that a lot more than that had been on her mind. He had almost said something when she arrived but had held back, deciding to enjoy the opportunity to watch the attractive blonde since it was obvious she didn't recognize him. It had been an added bonus, as well as a challenge to his own focus to maintain his workout rhythm when he realized just how thoroughly she was checking him out. He had almost lost his composure when he had seen her purposefully lean to get a better look, the direction of her thoughts obvious even through the mirrored reflection.

With his proximity JJ could now see the faint scars outlined on his chest that she had not been able to see earlier and for a few minutes it felt much more comfortable to let her eyes stay on the scars than to meet his eyes as her mind feverishly worked on what she was supposed to say next.

"I know they look pretty bad." He said, some of the merriment gone from his voice as he saw where her gaze was focused.

"No, they actually look better than I had imagined." She quickly responded, before kicking herself for admitting that she had even imagined what the scars on his chest might look like. "Oh hell," she finally caved in as she hit the cool down button the elliptical, her workout focus shot as she decided to take the bull by the horns and go ahead and deal with the conversation since he obviously wasn't going to casually walk off with a _"see you tomorrow."_

A few moments later she was thankful for the towel and water Hotch handed her as she stepped off the machine, having decided on a timely retreat as her best option. She inwardly groaned as he walked with her towards her planned escape hatch.

"We all had a busy day catching up on case files, I know several of you didn't even take time to eat." He said, stopping her retreat as they approached the door to the locker room. Grateful when instead of pushing past him she halted her retreat to meet his gaze with a questioning one of her own. "I thought you might like to grab a bite with me, it's late, I'm assuming we're both hungry."

JJ thought she detected a note of uncertainty in his voice as she realized from the intent look in his eyes that stripping away the circumstances of where they worked and that he was her boss that he was actually asking her out. She had heard through the office grapevine that Beth had ended things but she was still so surprised she couldn't respond immediately. Taking her silence as rejection Hotch straightened and backed away a smile that didn't quite meet his eyes appearing on his face as she saw him start to shut down. "I'm sorry I guess it is a little late…" He began.

"No wait, it's just a lot to process" she responded instinctively, grabbing his bare arm as she did so, registering the feel of the warm skin beneath her own. "I would like that," she agreed tentatively, deciding to step out on the limb with him. She had thought herself over what she had defined as a schoolgirl crush that had first developed when she had started working at the BAU but the feelings seemed to surge back from their hiding place at the first opening they had been given. The flutter in her stomach from earlier as back as she let her hand linger on his arm, purposefully signaling that she was not only aware of his interest but returned it.

The smile that crossed his handsome face told her he had received her message loud and clear as they held the pose a moment longer before she let her hand drop and stepped back. "I'll meet you back out here in 20?" He finally asked, breaking the spell that seemed to have overcome them both. Still not quite believing his fortune. He had harbored secret feelings for JJ for as long as he could remember. Though had never been free to act on them, between Haley, Will and then Beth the moment had never seemed right. Watching her tonight and seeing her hungry expression had been the tipping point where he knew he had to act even if it meant risking their friendship and upsetting the balance of the team.

"You were watching me also weren't you?" JJ asked with sudden clarity, feeling both relieved and flattered as it quickly dawned on her the mirror had done more than just allow him to catch her spying.

"Maybe," he acquiesced, feeling like he could confess considering how thorough she had been in her examination of him. He had fully appreciated the view of her rhythmic moves on the elliptical and the glistening sheen of sweat that had appeared as she worked out, leading his own mind on a dangerous path of imagination.

"So what were you thinking?" She asked, now on the offensive as she felt the embarrassment fade into curiosity.

"I suspect much the same as you were," He answered honestly, letting the statement linger rather than continuing in his assumption.

"I hope not," JJ gave an honest laugh, as she tried to imagine him thinking about jumping her bones.

"I think," he said after a moment of contemplation, "that we shouldn't go further down this path at the moment." His voice slow and steady as he saw her again look embarrassed, hastily adding on to correct the situation. "Because if we do we're both going to do something we regret, so we had better stick with my plan," he continued, his heart thudding as he stepped closer and held her gaze to make sure she would understand that he was serious.

"Your plan?" JJ asked, the voice not even sounding like hers to her ears.

"Yes, first I ask you to dinner tonight, then maybe again over the weekend. Then in about a week I'll start inviting you and Henry to do things with Jack and I. In about a month I'll get up the courage to steal a kiss as we move from our growing friendship towards admitting our feelings for one another and dating. After a few weeks of that we go through the bureaucracy of having you report to Dave or Cruz instead of me while I pull strings to keep you on the team and wait till the dust settles from that before we date for another.."

"Wait a minute, you seriously have all this planned out?" JJ had to stop him, her head spinning from information overload.

"Yes, I've had quite some time to work on it, but if you disagree it's subject to change." He said matter of factly, having observed in her expression shock only but no resistance to his suggestion.

"But I, but we…" She stammered uncharacteristically.

"We've been dancing around this for years JJ, tell me if I'm wrong." He said boldly, pulse escalating as the moment of truth arrived and he took her hands into his larger ones.

"No, no, you're not wrong." She admitted after trying to take stock. Her mind was in a frenzy as it tried to put everything into place but her heart had responded to his words loud and clear without any hesitation.

"I'll meet you back out here then?" He said with a grin, suddenly releasing her hands and backing out of her space to allow her to finally escape into the women's locker room.

"Ok, but first I do have one problem with your timeline. More than one actually, but the first one is that you're crazy if you think it's going to be a month before you steal a kiss." She said with a now playful smirk as she stepped into his space and tilted her head upwards, her body language obvious as she waited expectantly.

"I have no problem with that, but the rest of the timeline stays." He murmured, the last words spoken before he dipped his head towards hers.


End file.
